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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2016-01-27, Page 19Wednesday, January 27, 2016 • Huron Expositor 19 AMGH offers breastfeeding resource Laura Broadley Postmedia Network Have questions about breastfeeding? There is now a place you can go 24 hours a day, seven days a week to access reliable information. The Alexandra Marine and General Hospital has released a new resource on its website for people who have questions about breastfeeding called Breast- feeding Information Resource for the County of Huron (BIRCH). BIRCH is a search engine developed for breastfeeding because with so many unre- liable sources available through the keys of a com- puter it was important for the AMGH team to be able give people access to quality information, said Dr. Kim Spacek, chief of obstetrics at AMGH. She gave a physi- cians point of view while the search engine was being developed. Through BIRCH people can access videos, articles and photos that touch on a wide variety of topics like different breastfeeding holds, how to know if your baby is hungry and what to do if the baby won't latch. BIRCH was made possi- ble through a bursary from the Best Start program. Best Start is an Ontario resource centre for maternal new- born and early child devel- opment. The hospital received the bursary so it could focus on younger women with lower educa- tion and income levels. AMGH wanted to figure out what the community would benefit from the most and did a needs assessment with the Huron County Health Unit as well as focus groups. Spacek said she was sur- prised to learn that barriers to breastfeeding included a low income. She said she intuitively thought the price of formula would encourage mothers to breastfeed, which highlighted the importance of the focus groups. Marie Greer -King, a nurse practitioner with AMGH, said the team first had the idea to speak with high school students. "We knew they weren't breastfeeding. We wanted to know how they accessed health information espe- cially and what they knew, had they been exposed to breastfeeding?" said Greer -King. The high school focus groups revealed the stu- dents didn't access health information through print material, which confirmed what the AMGH team thought. The focus groups also revealed those students would use Google and trusted adults to access information. "That was good to know you still had the one-to-one personal connection with someone they trusted," Greer -King said. While most of the stu- dents said they planned to breastfeed in the future, most said they didn't receive any education about breastfeeding through the school system. The next focus groups involved breastfeeding mothers set up through the early years centre in Goder- ich and an already estab- lished mothers group. Greer -King said most of the mothers were looking for information after regular office hours. "Most of the time it was two o'clock in the morning and they had nobody to ask why the baby wasn't latch- ing or what were they doing wrong," Greer -King said. When the focus groups were finished the AMGH team decided to develop a breastfeeding resource that somebody could access at any time of the day and from anywhere with the confidence that the resources they were access- ing were reputable. AMGH has also included local clin- ics to BIRCH to give people the opportunity to access resources closer to home. To get started Greer -King compiled a list of reputable articles and gave the list to the obstetrics group at AMGH to look over. SHe also got suggestions from the Maitland Valley Medical Centre and the Huron County Health Unit. "Of course this is an evolving resource. Our hope is to keep it as up-to-date as possible," Greer -King said. There is potential to expand into different topics, Cap -and -Trade puts Ontario industry at competitive disadvantage Queen>s Park -PC Critic for the Environment and Cap - and -Trade Lisa Thompson released the following state- ment today regarding Ontar- io's climate strategy: "The Premier>s comments on climate changetoday are another stunning example of Liberal hypocrisy. Kathleen Wynne claims she wants to balance the needs of the environment and the economy, yet her Liberal government pushes ahead with a cap -and -trade scheme that will impose sig- nificant new costs on manufacturing and put Ontario industry at a com- petitive disadvantage. We can>t afford risky schemes that will put the jobs of hardworking men PLEASE RECYCLE The Huron East Heritage Committee is pleased to announce The 2016 Heritage Week Amateur Photo Contest! Help celebrate the beautiful heritage and history of our community by sharing your photos of architectural features and heritage buildings: commercial, agricultural, and residential are all encouraged and appreciated! Enjoy Family Day on Monday, February 15th, 2016 by highlighting and capturing all of the history and heritage that Huron East has to offer and be awarded cash prizes! The contest will include three age groups: (1) Junior (grades JK to Grade 8), (2) Intermediate (Grade 9 to current postsecondary students, excluding mature students who can enter as Adult); and (3) Adult (no age limit). Prizes of 1st, 2nd and 3rd will be awarded $50, $35 and $20 respectively in each age group which will be judged by the Huron East Heritage Committee after the conclusion of Heritage Week on February 19th, 2016. Visit the Huron East Website at www.huroneast.com for full contest rules and Entry Forms. and women at risk. Ontario needs a government that will address climate change through innovation and con- servation while protecting and growing our economy': like a prenatal information resource. Greer -King will be pre- senting BIRCH at the Best Start community showcase in February. BIRCH can be accessed at www.amgh.ca/resources. SEAFORTH BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION Notice of Annual General Meeting Wednesday, January 27th, 8:OOpm Regular BIA Meeting Wednesday, January 27th, 6:30pm Second Floor Huron East Municipal Offices (Town Hall) 72 Main Street South, Seaforth Refreshments provided. Please RSVP to seaforthbia@gmail.com or 519-440-9424 to celebrate Roy Swart (90) and Angeline Swart (80) on Sunday, February 14, 2016 from 2 - 4 p.m. at the Seaforth Legion No gifts please OFFICE HOURS The Office Hours for The Seaforth Huron Expositor are as follows Mondays - 9am - 5pm Tuesdays - CLOSED Wednesdays - 9am - 5pm Thursdays - 9am - 5pm Fridays - 8am - 4pm Aron Expositor 8 Main Street, Seaforth ON PH: 519-527-0240 www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com